Apparatus for making multiply board



June 27, 1933. J, c. NICHOLS 1,915,690

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MULTIPLY BOARD June 27, 1933. J. c. NlcHoLs 1,915,690

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MULTIPLY BOARD Filed Jan. 25, 1952 4 sheets-sheet 2 June 27, 1933. NICHOLAS' 1,915,690

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MULTPLY BOARD Filed Jan. 25, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 TTY-f June 27, 1933. J. c. NICHOLS 1,915,690l

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MULTIPLY BOARD Filed Jan. 25 1952 4 snees-sheet 4 'I 20 '4s-4 einige. .f

PatentedJunejZ'l, 1.933'` JAMES cgnIcHonsoF CHIoAeo, iLLINoIs l `Arruiaaurris non MAKING MULTIPLY BOARDy l Appncation mea January 25, i932; serial No. 588,605.

This invention relates to improvements in f machines for makingmulti-ply board and refers 'specifically to apparatus for continuously adhesively uniting a rflexible fibrous or yfabric v,webto one or both sides of a'plurality of relatively rigidvcores'or slabs of'vvoold or the like. Y l

Theutility, objects. and advantages ofy rmy invention will be apparent fr om the accom- 19 panying drawings and' following detail de-.v

' Fig..7 is a side elevational view ofthe adhesive-unit shown Figf'.

Fig. 8isfadetail elevationalview of `web raising mkecvhanisr'n.-`Y l Fig. 9 isa sectional viewof Ithejyproduct "3D madefby my'macliine.

Referring in detailtothe drawings, 1 and indicate rolls of paper, fabric'for'I the like which may be .mounted upon rods 3 andi/1 M respectively which, in turn,`arefsupported by w bearings 5 and 6.v IIhebearingsv 5 ande-may be mounted. upon beams 57 which ymay bepositioned upon each side of the rolls 1l and 2,1said beams being` supported by uprights8-v-8 4and 9. The upright 9`may comprise oneunitjof lo a skeleton` frame structure provided with Ycooperating units jl() and 11. Abase beam y12 may traversesubstantially the entire-length of the machine proper and a transversely dis` l .y posed guide roll may bemounted upon 1" said beam adjacent one endthereof.

A web 15 of paper,` `fabric orthe-like',

betaken from the roll 1 and maybe passed bene-ath thepguide roll 14.." Said web may be carried forwardly to a secondguide roll 16 carriedover .guide roll l20 with fits adhesive the-.machine proper with its, airis the saine horizontalplaneas the roll 14. The travel of the web 15 may be reversed' in itspassage over the roll 16 and may be carried upwardly over f guideroll`17which may be mountedupon'upf right 18.y AThe. web 15, after its passageover l the'rolll, accomplishes a complete reversal 'y in direction and passes toward the frontend:

of` the machine. During thisl latterpassage the lower face' or vsurface of said Webcomes into.: contact with the peripheral surface of adhesive roll 19 which y will` be hereinafter morefu'lly described. Said `Web maynthen be surface facng'downwardly'. After passage over theroll 20the direction of travel of the webmay bey changed andsaid webymay bey carried over reversing roll 21 mounted upon `4 platform 22. i

' The platfOlImQfZ maybe supported`rcol-v` 7 `umns 23",/ 24and 18, the. columns 18 and 24v;

constituting f portions ofthe skeleton frame n worka2'l5, said columns being spannedinter'- m glue unit platform- 26 and a beam27.

Theglue 19 may be mounted upon vshaft 28 which, in turn, may be journalled at each 'of its ends'in bearings 29. `The bearings29 may be mounted l in vany suitable manner .upon80 Han ges30 wh ich, in turn,` are postion'edupon the sides of vat 31.'r The flanges 30 may take the form of angle -irons as shown best in Fig; 5." A shaft 32 4mounted in bearings 33 mayibe'w'disposed lparallel tothe shaft 28 and may carry a doctorroll 34s, fthe surface of whi'chispositioned adjacent thesurfface of diate theirrlen'gth' by platform 22, upper `the"gluferoll y19. Thebea-rings 33 arefmounted 'upontheanges or anglef iron'30insuch av n `manner'as to permit limited" slidabletmovebo ment of .the roll '34 towards or away from 'roll 19. They bearings33 may beso moved by vmeans of screws 35'threa`dedly positioned s through lugs 36 which,rin turn, are mounted 'upon` flanges `30- The bearings 33 maybe.Q5 7

locked at a desired position with respect to the bearings 29 by means of nuts 37 positioned upon screws35.

In utilizing thisiportion of the apparatus l I i Y a' quantity of liquid adhesive :material siohlfas um() (y #-asplaltgfsiainifsilcateeorithe dike, `1^nayebe 55u" i l introduced into the vat 31. Upon rotation of the glue roll 19 the surface thereof may carry a film of said adhesiife'material and by the provision of the doctor roll 34 the thickness of said hlm may be controlled by adjusting the position of the' roll 34 with respect to the roll 19. In this manner the web 15, coming into contact with thesurface of the glue roll- 19, will receive a film of adhesive from said glue roll of a desired thickness.

The vat 31 may be mounted upon wheels 38 which may be adapted to travel upon `tracks 39 positioned at the lower portion of the frame work 25, said tracks extending outwardly in a transverse direction with respectv to said frame worlr a distance substantially equal to the'width of the vat 31. A gear 40 carried by shaft 41 may be mounted within the frame 25, said gear being adapted to mesh with gear 42 mounted at one end4 of the shaft 28. The gear 42, in turn, meshes with gear 43 which is mounted upon the doctor shaft 32. It is to be'noted 'that the driving gear is mounted rigid'with respect to the frame25 whereas the gears 42 and 43 are carried as integral portions of the glue unit.

Consequently, when it is desired to replenish the .supply of `adhesive within the vat 31, said vatmay be rolled along tracks 39 to its outermost position upon said tracks; ln this position the various units, comprising the gluing mechanism may be 'readily accessible for purposes of cleaning or minor repairs. .lf desired the adhesive materialzinay be -drainedfrom the vat 31 through'the drain opening 44. To return the vat 31 -to its'norlfrom the roll 2 and may be c y rried over guide roll 45 mounted adjacent the lower `portion of the upright 9. Said web may thence bek carried over guide roll 46 mounted upon the upperend of the upr1ght'9. The web may thence be carried forwardly to guide roll 47 mounted upon theupper end of the upright 18. vUpon passing over the roll 47 said web is carried downwardly over roll 48 whence its direction of travel is reversed, the vweb passing from the roll 48 to roll 49 mounted upon upright 24. From the roll 49 the web is carried over roll 50 and the direction of travel of said web is again reversed upon its passage over roll50. rThe web then travels to roll 51 mounted upon the inner sideportion of the lupright 18 and during its passage. fromroll :50 tol-roll 51, the lower surface of said web comes into Contact with the rotating glue roll-.19. ln this manner a quantity of adhesive deposited upon the lower `surface of the web 15,. Said web is thentrained over roll 51 audits direction of travel 'is again reversed, the adhesive side of the roll at this `period facing Y upwardly. The adhesive coated web is then passed over guide roll 52 mounted upon upright 11. i n

The glue roll 19 is mountedupon shaft 28 which, in turn, is journalled in bearings 29 mounted upon flanges 30 which in turn, are positioned upon the sides of vat 31. A gear 40 is journalled in the frame worky 25 and meshes with gear 43 which, in turn, meshes with gear 42 mounted upon the end of shaft 28. The gear 43 is mounted upon one end of shaft 32which may carry a doctor roll similar in construction to the doctor roll carried by the shaft 32 in the lower glue unit. Sprocket wheel 53 may be mounted upon shaft 41 of the lower glue unit, said sprocket being adapted to drive. sprocket chainv 54 which, in turn, drives sprocket wheel 55 rigidly connected to tliesame shaft kas that upon' which gear 40 is mounted. In this manner both glue units may befoperated in timed relationship and may b-e driven from the same source. f

Thevat 31 may be mounted upon track 39 which, in. turn, may be positioned. upon platform 26 and the arrangement is such that the vat 31 may be moved to the position shown in'dotted lines in Fig. 5. In this mannerthe adhesive contained within the vat 31.l may be changed or removed and the vupper glue unit may be rendered more accessible for minor repairs, cleaning and oiling.

It can readily 'be seen that theupper and lower `glue units are of substantially identical construction. However, it will be noted that glue rolls revolve in opposite directions inasmuch as at the period of'gluing, the web 15 and web 15 travelA in opposite directions. However, the 'essentialfeatures of both glue units are similar.

YA table -56 may be mounted upon the platform 22 adjacent the reversing roll 21 rand the arrangement is such thattlie adhesively coated web 15 carriedv over the roll 21. passes over the surface of the table 56 with itsl adhesively coated face upwardly. During' the passage oftheweb 15 over the table 56, a plurality of cores, panels or'slabs of relatively thin wood 57 are positioned upon the moving web in abutting relationship. The cores or panels 57 may be disposed upon themoving web 15 either by hand or by sui tably'designed mechanism (not shown). The web may 1 thence be carried forwardly to the first press websl andi l are subjected to aw pressing action AThe `press' unit 58 may. comprisefan upper i press' roll 59 and a lowerpress roll, 60, said latter vrolly being positioned immediately be neaththe roll y59. j The `roll 59,1naygbe mounted upon shaft Gly whicl'i,in"tur n, is journalled in b'loclr 64. Both of the blocksl andA 64A v may be, slidably positionedbetween guides 65 and '66, apair of said guides being mountedL l upon the platform 22 at each end fof the rolls'.A

59 and 60. The space .betweenthe surfaces of the rolls 59 and 60 may be varied by movingthe blocks 62 and 64 upwardly'or 'down `V wardlybyfmeans ofscrews and 67 which may be operatively connected respectively to l the/blocks k62 and 64. The fcores 5,7 c'onlined betweenthe webs l5 andv 15 -may be 'carried between the' rolls 59 and' 60=and,fas-can'readf ily be seen, thefpressure of the rolls uponthe composite ,unit hereinafter .designated .68,

inayrbe'contr'olled. l Afterpassingj through the pressfunit58 the compoisiteproductmay becarriedsto asecond press unit 69 which issimilar in construci tion to the unit ,58v with the one eceptionthat the lower roll 70 corresponding to the roll-.60

in-theunit'S isof-greater diameter.. yUpon passing' through the second/press unit 69 said coinpositeproductis again sub]ectedto-.pressure whichtends tofiirmly luniteythe Webs l5 and 15 and the cores or .slabs 57.1@V 'i After passingl through the ypress funi the composite product may bel'cutl transversely by knives 71 which are shown :diagrams yinati'cally inl' 3,1saifd knives-being eithermechanically operated or operated by hand. After severance the units severed fromthe continuously moving; composite :product 68 may be passed in s'eriatumzvthroughapressy units 72, "T3, 74, 75 and 7;6 whicharei similar in construction tothe units" 5 84 and69. 5However, as afeature my"invention7 the lower rollsZ'Z. 78,79, 80`and281;of therespective presses 7 2, .7.3, V74, 75, and, 7 6. mfayabefofprof `resslvely increasingfdiameters; The :pur-

pose; 'of providing' progressively increasing Theunits S2 maybe carriedbysaidconveyor to any desiredportionfof' the plant where the same may be bundled, packedand madera ady for shipment. :1 f

The lower rollsy of each of the. pre's'suni'ts maybe driven rolls :whereastheupper rolls may run idle. 4Furtheas willfbe Vhereinafter' `more fully described, thefl'ower rolls.A allrotate at thesameangular velocity.v y ll-Iowever, V inasmuch as :the diameters of the lower rolls progressively increase inthe direction;`v of ofwsaid rolls progressively increaseifin the same proportion-The action whichresults from-:thisarrangementds that a degree of slippage takes"pl'a'ce as the product. passes between-ge'acligof the rollsof the pressunit sincefthe'product moves-at a speed l,substan-y tially `equal .to the peripheral lspeed ofthe rollthrough which it has ypreviously passed.

Henceyit can loe-seen lthat the lowervweb l5. willibe -stretched and ywillbe'firmly united to the` lowerffsurfaces of the slabs f 57,) all` wrinkles and creases whichwould otherwise be 3 present in' said lower web beingv removed bythisstretching action. f inasmuch as the lower web 15tendsto move at a speed equalv to theperipheral speed of the lower roll with ywhich it is in Contact, it also tends to carry the interposed slabs 57 atI the vsame speed. However,- thisA increase in v[speed is opposed by the slower moving upper web vl5 which l moves at a speed equal to the-peripheral speed v of :the lower roll-y 'of the' jlast preceding press y unitg and: eonsequently this stretching 4action takesI Yplace? in thejupper web, the, force l of traveli'of thefproduct, the peripheral'v speeds y soy the stretch being'e-Xerted. in theopposite. di-A rectionht);t l1at' force' exerted upon thelower web. In this manner the wrinkles and creases are' removedA frointhe upper ,web `15 andsaid'upper webis lirmlyunited tothe ,upper surfaces-,of the slabs 57. Y -The action which'` has'xbeen hereinbefore described in generalsimulates a 'rubbing or ironing action, .f and; tendsto' fmore lfirmly. unit, therespective `webs tothe sidesl or4 'faces ofy the slabs. -In

order to utilize this actfi'on the funitsSQ'y may be cut by tlre1kni'ves'7l in such dimensions that thejlength of one unit 82 isgreater than the distance? between the center linesl of two adjacent presses.

In other words, the"v two;

webs confining the interposedslabsof each l,

unit will be simultaneously acted'upon by vat least two presses. v Itfis to 'be understood, of course, thatthe compositerproduct 68 "may be carried as a.

.funi'tthrough the entire'series ofjpress'es-'and said product 'may be subsequently out kinto unit blocks or slabs `as it Vpassesvfrointhe last However, v inasmuch as .y the slabs arey of` relatively rreduced thickness,

.said slabsL warpl very easily. After warpingA hasta-ken place, diiiricultyis encounteredin properly adhesivcly'uniting' the webs 15and 15 to the surfaces vofthe slabs, the action k'which/takesfplacebeing that the webs and slabs' are brought into intimate contact with each other duringv their passage vthrough a reassert themselvesand contactv is brokenba tween thefwebsand fthe surfaces of the-slabs Ainasmuch as bothlw'ebs being continuous are press, but"immediately upon leavingsaid press', the warping tendencies ofthe slab maintained inptension and tendto straight en.y themselves into atrue plane insteadof following the surface Icontour ofthe slabs Y 57.k By cutting 'the composite product 68 1 through all of the presses andpreferably be-y fore the adhesive tends to set, the warping into unit products 82 previous to its passagetendencies Y`of the slabs 57 do not present these difficultiesand'the webs 15 and 15more easily conform themselves to the contourof the surface of the slabs.

It is to be understood, of course, that thev number of presses utilized is dependent upon the dimensions ofthe slabs 57, the thickness of the webs 15 and 15, the nature .of said web and the characteristics of the adhesive applied thereto,vparticularly its character* istics as to setting. 1t is to be understood that the step of cutting the composite product 68 may take pla-ce after the pressing operations or between any of the presses. Fun ther, the resulting product instead of comy prising Wooden slabs confined between two webs of paper or fabric may comprise a plurality of wooden slabs disposed in abutting relationship and adhesively united to but one web of paper or fabric'. ln the inanufacture of this latter product upon my machine it can readily be'seen that but one web may be fedto the presses, eitherv the upper web 1,5 orthe lower web 15.

The entire machine may be actuated by an electric motor 86 oi' other suitable prime mover. 1f a motor is used the same may be connected by belt 87 which may pass lover pulley 88 of the motor and around pulley 89 which may be loosely mounted upon shaft 90. The pulley '89 may carry sleeve 91 upon which may be positioned a sprockety wheel 92. A sprocket chain 93 may operatively connect sprocket wheel. 92 and sprocket wheel 94 which may be mounted upon shaft 95. Another sprocket wheel (not shown) may be mounted upon shaft 95 and 'may drive sprocket chain 96 which, in turn, drives sprocket wheel 97 mounted upon shaft 98. The shaft 98 may passtiansversely across the machine proper and may terminate in sprocket wheel 99 which, `in turn, drives sprocket chain100 and operatively connects the wheel 99 and sprocket wheel 101. Sprocket wheel 101 may be mounted upon shaft 11 which also carries gear 40, the arrangement being such that said gear when ro- 4 tated, rotates respectively gears 42 and 13 which drive the glue roll 19 and doctor roll 84. A. second sprocket wheel 102J may-be mounted upon the shaft 4&1 and is operatively connectedto sprocket wheel 103 mounted upon shaft 104V which incidently is the same shaft which carries the gear 10. As has been hereinbefore described, the chain 54C operatively connects sprocket wheel 102 and '103. 1n this manner both of the ,gluing units comprising` the glue rolls 19 and 19 are y operated simultaneously from the same rsource of power. f

To drivethe press units which in turn upon shaft 106by means of sprocket chain 107. A clutch mechanism 108 may be operatively mounted upon shaft 90 and is so constructed that upon suitable movement ofclut'ch 108pulley 89 vmay be mechanically connected to shaft 90, and, hence, both shaft 90 and pulley 89 will revolve as a unit.' The clutch 108 is shown diagraminatically and is intended .to 'indicate any type of sliding clutch mechanism. f

' ShaftilOG passes transversely acrosslthe machine' proper and carries at its opposite end `sprocket wheel 107, said sprocket wheel being operatively connected to sprocket l wheel108 by sprocket chain 109. The latter sprocket wheel, namely wheel 108, is mounted upon the vlower roller shaft -of lpress 73 as shown best at 110 in Fig. h At the oppo- "i site end of shaft 110 a'sprocket wheel 110 isA carried which connectswith a similar sprocket upon shaft 111 by meansof sprocket chain 112; v'Shaft 111 also carries lower roll 77 of the press unit 72. A second sprocket wheel is mounted upon shaft 111 and a sprocket chain 113 passes over said sprocket wheeland operatively connects the same with a sprocket wheel mounted upon shaft 114 Vupon which lower roll 70 of press 69His mounted. A second sprocket wheel is mounted rupon shaft 114C and is operatively connectedy by means of sprocket chain 115 with shaft 116 upon which lower roll 60 of press unit 58 is mounted. In

a similar manner the lower rolls 79, 80v and n 81 are driven respectively by sprocket chains 117, 118 and 119, itvbeing understood, of course, that all of thesprocket wheels with which chains 112, 113, 115, 117, 118 and 119 i are connected are of equal diameters so that all of the lower rolls 60, 70, 77, 78,' 79, 80 and v81 will rotate at equal angular velocities.

It is to be understood of course, that the lower rolls of each of the present units may have equal diametersand the drive comprisnected through means of sprocket wheels and i.

chains,rma`y be geared together in an obvious manner and in addition, if desired, both rolls of each of the presses may be driven at equal or differential peripheral or angular velocities. f

Asprocket chain'120 may voperatively connect the lower roll 81-of the press unit 7 6 with the conveyor roll 84. Inthismannerthe conveyor belt'86 will be driven at a peripheral yspeed equa'lto the speed of the unit productsv A82 which leave the last press unit'7 6.

It will be observedfthat the glue rolls 19 and 19 are connected directly to-the motor 86,

that is, whenever said motor is in operation thek glue rolls will rotate but-it will alsobe observed thatl the driving rolls of the press units are connected to the motor 86 through the medium of a clutch. By this arrangement the press units may be operated independently of the lglue rolldrive. The advan- "tage of this arrangement is that during thel operation of the .device it may become desirable to'stop the travel of the webs 15 and l5 whereas an adhesivevmaterial may be contained `in the vats 31 and v31 which may quickly set, It can readily be seen that if f each of the glue rolls upon which a quantityk the glue rolls were stopped each timel that the press units 'were stopped, that portion v.of

of glue may be carried and immersed-in the glue within the vat would have a film of hardened glue upon their peripheries when operations were again commenced. Hence it is desirable during-operation of the machine to maintain the glue rolls 19 and 19 in conthe periphery of glue roll 19 and web 15 will 1 be in contact with glue roll 19', an undesirable quantity of glue may be transferred from the moving glue rolls to the. stationary webs. Hence, when operations again commence, a possibility exists of the glue rolls carrying the webs upon their surfaces thereby tearing the web and in general balling up the entire machine. To obviate this-difficulty I provide a web lifting apparatus designated 121 which may comprise shafts 122 and 123 mounted,

` respectively, adjacent the point 'of contact of the webs 15 and 15 with the glue rolls 19 and 19. Arms 124 and 125 may be respectively mounted upon each of the shafts 122 and 123, said arms respectively carrying rods 126 and 127. f Cranks 128 and 129 maybe respectively mounted uponv the ends of the shafts 122 and 123, said cranks being interconnected by tie rod 13() provided with turn-` v buckle 131. Bell crank lever 132 may be mounted upon the opposite end of the shaft 123 and may be connected to link133 which,

y in turn, may be connected lto lever 134. The

arrangement is such that when the movement of webs l and 15 has been stopped, lever 134 may be shifted thereby rocking shaft 123 and 122 until rods 12,7 and .126, normally posi- .tioned between the webs '15y and 15', are rraised. into contact Iwith theV lower surfaces of said webs therebycarrying said webs upwardly .above their normal position and breaking contact betweensaid Webs and the glue rolls. Hence, an undesirable accumulation of'adhesivegmay be' prevented from `being de- 4p'osited upon .the stationary webs 15 land '15 when the press unitsare stopped and the glue p funits are in operation.k

I claim as myinvention: f1. A device for making multi-ply'board which kcomprises in combination, means for feeding acontinuous web of brous material, `means for applying coating vto said web,

rmeans for -uniting laterally. spaced wooden cores to said adhesively coated web, means for `severing said united web vand vcores into units, and means for'pressing said units in ,seriatum i 52. Aldev'ice for making multi-plyboard which comprises in combination, means for feedinga continuous web of fibrous material, means for applying adhesive toa surface of said web, means for uniting said adhesively coated webto laterally spaced wooden `cores and simultaneously pressing said web into intimate contact with said cores comprising a plurality of pairs of rotating press rolls, means for driving a roll of each pair, means for driving said driven `rolls at progressively increasing peripheral speeds, said web and cores-being passed successively between each y pair of rolls. y

A device for making multi-ply board which comprises. in combination, means for feeding a continuous web of fibrous material, an adhesive carrying roll, meansfor applying adhesive to the surface of said roll, means for transferring said adhesiveto'the continuously moving fibrous web, means for uniting and pressing said web into contact with laterally yspaced wooden cores, and means for independently actuating said adhesive carrying roll andpressing means.

4. A device for making multi-ply board' which comprises in combination, means for feeding a plurality of continuous webs of fibrous material, means for applying adhesive to a surface of each ofsaid webs, means for uniting said adliesively coated websl to laterally spaced wooden cores and simultaneously pressing said webs into intimate contact with said cores, and means for independently driving said adhesive applying means and said uniting and pressing means.

5. In combination, a frame for supporting a roll of iibrous material, a vat forliquid adhesive, a roll continuously rot-ating in said vat, means for carrying a fibrous web from said iirst mentioned roll `into contact with said continuously rotating roll thereby transferring a film of adhesive to a surface of said web, a plurality of press units comprisisc ing pairs of cooperating press rolls, means for uniting said adhesively coated web with laterally spaced wooden.y cores, means yfor passing the same between said press rolls, ind means for independently driving said continuously rotating adhesive roll and said press rolls.

6. In combination, a frame for supporting a roll of librous material, a vat for liquid adhesive, a roll continuously rotating in said vat, means for carrying a fibrous web from said first mentioned roll into Contact with said continuously rotating roll thereby transferring a film of adhesive material to a surface of said web, a plurality of press units comprising pairs of cooperating press rolls, means for uniting said adhesively coated web with laterally spaced cores, means for passing the same between said press rolls, means for independently driving said continuously rotating adhesive roll and said press rolls,

and means for removing said web from con-y tact with said adhesive roll. Y

7. A press unit for ad'hesivelyv uniting laterally spaced wooden cores with a continuousl-y moving fibrous web which comprises in Combinationj a plurality of pairs of juxtaposed press rolls disposed in seriesbetween f each pair of .which the web and cores are passed, means for driving one roll of each pair of rolls, and meansfor driving the driv-v progressively 

